Never Say Goodbye
by VocalSynthesia
Summary: One day, you're taken to another world in the universe. War is going on with unknown creatures. Will you survive, or will you die? OC, Teana x Subaru. AU.
1. Character Information

**_Story information - Point ZER0_**

Year 2258, Artha, miles away from Earth. In 2018, the Earth was invaded by aliens named ''Faylan''. Mankind tried to fight, but failed with every attempt. Tanks were crused, fleets and planes were taken down. Soon, the Faylan left Earth, nobody knew why. Mankind began to rebuilt Earth's plans to take out the Faylan. Shortly after, in 2025, another planet not far from Earth, named Artha, was discovered. Humanity soon worked out plans to send humans to Artha, and those who didn't want to go, could stay on Earth. Several fighting academies were built, special ''species'' were created, named Legacy,their codename was named ''Mage'', and special parts from the Faylan were implanted in the back of these girls: the A.F. System (A.F. for short). The process where the A.F. is implanted is called the Blackout.

Several units were created, starting with the DMU, the Defensive Mage Unit. The girls who entered had to undergo a special test. Based on that test, they got their A.F. inplanted, and where shown their magic colour. The first projects to implant I.F. in ordinary humans failed: The girls died, except two who could bear with it for a short time, but their body began to show corrossing, glowing lines in the colour of their magic. The girls died after their body was covered in the corrosion.

The humans on Artha didn't believe in the project anymore and wanted to return to Earth, but they couldn't; the Faylans already invaded again. Meanwhile, the research continued and slowly the project began to succeed.

Humanity found out that the timeline was different than Earth's. When it was the year 2025 on their homeplanet, on Artha it was currently 2258. They began to develop new tecnologics, since they couldn't go back anymore. The first Mages were finally able to fight and went to training camps. Schools were built, a whole network of cities was created all over the world.

When one Faylan was destroyed, her corpse left a big, glowing crystal. That crystal became the main source of the Legacy's power and was stored and locked down in a special stasis tank, deep in the basement of the very first Unit on Artha. It is called the Sacred Jewel

After they spend time on Artha, the Faylans invased again. But, with the new species created and the special Units' commands, they succeeded to defeat the two which where invasing.

But there where still a lot mysteries around the Faylan, and the risks for the Mage's was high. Since their A.F. System was made from material which came from the Faylans, their body could corrose as they used too much power and even lead to their death.

Even now, the Legacy is protecting Artha from the Faylan. But when will everything be clear? Will there be more deaths?

**...POINT ZER0 TECHNICAL TERMS...**

**Artha:** The main universe of Point ZER0. A scientic world found after the Faylan invaded Earth.

**Legacy:** The name for the fighting species created on Artha. One can become a Legacy when she passes a special test. Humands and androids/cybernetics/cyborgs can become a Legacy

**Mage:** Codename, or standard name, for the girls from the Legacy

**Unit:** Special academies or bureau's to give orders and to train the Mages.

**Faylan:** Aliens who invaded Earth. Nobody know why they invaded nor where they came from. All Faylans are female and appears to have the body of a human, but with alien-like features.

**Sacred Jewel:** The main source of power for the Legacy. It is stored and locked down in the deep basement of the first Unit on Artha. Throughout the story, when some Legacy has permission to enter the basement, the crystal completely changed. The body of a human woman with a deep green crystal on her chest is seen instead of the expected red Crystal. Her whole body is crystalised and sealed in an stasis tank, still being the main source of power for the Legacy.

**A.F. Weapon:** The weapons for the Legacy to fight with. All weapons are silver or a metallic-colour. It is also called an Code. To activate it, the user has to activate the A.F. System in her back. Example: ''A.F. Activate.''

A.F. System: Small fragments of the Faylan which are implanted in the Mage's back to grant her supernatural powers. The A.F. System are inplanted after the results of the test. The greater the outcome, the more A.F. the Mage got implanted. Normal Mages have 5 to 7 A.F. implanted, but there are even Mages with up to 15.

**_OC Information – Point ZER0_**

**Name**: Emi Maria Hinato

**Gender**: Female

**Race**: Cyborg (after the car accident when she was 7)

**Age**: 19

**Hair colour**: Crimson red

**Eye colour**: Red

**Alternate eye colour**: Yellow (in her Cyborg Program)

**Family**: Miona Hinato (older sister, deceased), Azura Hinato (mother, deceased), Hitomi Chiwasa, (adoptive sister, partner) and Sara Chiwasa (adoptive mother)

**CORE colour**: Red (The CORE is a small crystal embodied in the Mage's stomach. The smaller your CORE is, the less magic you can produce (and the weaker your attacks are). The colour of the CORE is your Magic colour.)

**Weapon**: Unnamed spear-like polearm (you can find pictures of Emi and Hitomi on DeviantART with the name PearlRoses, there you can find more information, too, about the story, and 10 chapters for Point ZER0)

**Rank**: A+ (The user is capable of flight, teleportation, double barrier, weapon changing while in combat. Weak in defence, high skills in combat. Can carry one person who is not capable of flight. High speed skills, can heal wounds but with a limit.)

**_Attacks and Defensive Spells_**:

**Blood Matrix**: Emi creates her Circle (the circle pattern can also be found on PearlRoses) at the tip of the spear, loading one big ball of magic in the middle. Six smaller balls are loading around the centre ball, while the scent ''Blood...'' leaves her lips. At "Matrix!'', the small balls are smashing forward to knock the opponent out, then the centre ball shots forward with a powerful blast, destroying the enemy. But, due the massive damage this attack deals, Emi is prohibited to use this in mock battles and normal combat. She only can use this in life-threatening situations.

**Barrier Weakening**: When using her fist with the armoured part around it (this is her right arm, she is left-handed and don't use her weapon with right because she has a fingerless glove on her left hand) and smashing in a barrier or a shield with enough force, she can weaken or even break the shield or barrier. However, this only works with small shields or barriers. For bigger ones, she will need help from Hitomi's Barrier Purge to break it.

**Complete Protection**: A circle-formed barrier covers Emi completely, allows her to walk through fire, falling debris, water, ect. ect. without getting hurt. She can take up to four persons in the barrier with her.

**Paranormal Binding**: This spell lock the enemy in several binds, starting from the neck, crossing over the chest, binding the arms behind the back, binding the wrists, the knees together and at last the ankles, so the person is unable to stand anymore. She can choose to let the person float or lie down on the ground. This spell is, sadly enough, not effective when the other one casted a Breaking Spell already before she can use the Paranormal Binding.

**Healing**: Can be used for small wounds. It takes up a lot of energy and you'll need some time for it, so you can't use this in clear combat. Can be used by both Emi and Hitomi.

**Extending Grip**: The magic will appear around her hands, so she can slide down a wall while holding her hands on it without tearing them open. Always use the Protection before you slide down a wall or floor, or you'll tear them open anyways.

**Protection**: This spell is the one she has to wear over her gloves before sliding down a wall or floor, otherwise she'll tear open her hands.

**High Speed Movement: **While jumping, running or standing, her Circle can appear under her feet. She sinks to the ground, and jumps or runs. In the process she disappears, only leaving a red smoke behind. Before the other can react she appears above, in front, behind or under him or her and can attack. She is also able to, when she is thrown near a wall, to cling to the wall, let the circle appear and jump forward with high speed, to attack.

**Facilitation: **This type of movement differs from the High Speed Movement. It can't be seem by an ordinary human, nor a skilled Mage who knows the tactics. The facilitation can be used in every type of situation, but it takes risk. When you use it too much you'll be damaging your A.F. System. It works like a blast of wind: When you call out the ''spell'', you suddenly dissappear, leaving wind and dust (or sand, whatever is in your vicinity) behind. You can control your direction with your body, and reappear behind, before or above your opponent. This move is taught by agents of the DMU who enrolls in the second year.

**Double Facilitation: **The faster and stronger variant of Facilitation. You deploy two copies of yourself, and attack from two directions. Your attack power goes up, and it is almost not possible to stop a blow when you don't know the tactics. Taught for the third year's agents.

**Triple Facilitation:** The last and fastest variant. You deploy up to five copies, but when you learned more about it, you can deploy ten. This tactic is taught for the last year's agents.

**_Programs:_**

**Armour Program:** Emi's standard program. Her uniform disappears and changes in a black sleeveless turtleneck which ends above her stomach with a red border in the middle. Her skirt changes in a black shorts with the same red stripe and her stockings for her uniform change in black stockings with a pair of black boots. Her left hand gets a fingerless glove while her right her gets a full glove with elbow length. Her hair, which reaches in civilian to her back, grows out to the ground and changes in a thick braid with a silver band. The armoured parts are silver and appears on her chest, her right arm (except her fingers) and her legs just above her knees. Two small ailver half-circles surround her hips with two small red pearls in the middle. On the circles a long, red cloth surrounds her hips and behind her. (See the whole Armour design on PearlRoses)

**_Cyborg Program: _**When Emi snaps, her eyes are starting to glow yellow until they are golden-yellow. Strong wind is surrounding her, blowing her hair and clothes. When the program is completely out of control there is a chance that her armoured parts can be blown off. Her Circle changes and is spinning twice as fast as her regular circle. Her attacks are more powerful, but she can't defence herself. When she receives one fatal blow, she is knocked out. This doesn't count for weaker hits.

**_Civilian Program:_** Her normal, casual form. She wears her black uniform and carries a gun and a knife because she is an officer/Mage working for the ''MSU'' (Mage Special Unit). Her hair hangs loose around her shoulders or she ties it up in a ponytail. She usually wears a necklace with a small G-Key, that is the necklace of her mother which the doctors gave to her when she woke up after the surgery from the car accident. It is the only thing she still has from her family.


	2. The First Battle I

It was just an ordinary day at school. Boring lessons, tons of homework, busy halls, everything for a normal school life. There was one girl who stood out of the rest of the crowd. With long, orange hair like fire, light blue eyes, and a fine face, Tiana was that girl. It was lunch break, and as loud as Always in the place where they could eat their lunch.

She sighed while walking over to an empty seat by a table where her friends where. She didn't had many, but she was fine with the amount she had. She sat down and opened some of her screens. Still, she had work to do from Mid even when she wasn't at the office. She thought it was better to take class and trying to live a sort of ''normal'' life than being a Mage 24/7 of her time.

''Yo~!'' A tall girl with long red hair in a ponytail and crimson eyes took a seat next to her. Emi Hinato, her friend ''How's class today?''

''Boring as usual. I still don't understand some things, but okay, I will learn those someday.''

''From being a Mage to a school life is hard, isn't it?'' She said with her mouth full of rice. She Always ate a lot and she still stayed skinny. Tiana always wondered how she did that and she didn't gain any weight, because she hated sports and PE class.

''I know, I know. You don't have to repeat that in every break we have.''

''Sorry… Oh, Tia, there's something I want to talk with you about after class today. Do you have time?''

''I think so, I-'' The white card with a red cross beeped repeatedly in her pocket so she took it out.

Her screens turned red and a ''WARNING!'' sign kept appearing and disappearing on it. Another small screen popped up, showing thousands of scrolling letters and numbers over her screen, so much she got a bit dizzy.

''Wh-what is going on?!''

**.:Warning! Unknown portal opened! Warning!:.**

Deep inside, she thought she knew what was going on. When she was a child, her brother was killed. She was dragged away from the scene while hearing his last words. When she was taken, she caught a glimpse of a man with an axe-like Device. She always thought that he did it. But the evidence lead to someone else.

**.:Warning! Incoming spell!:.**

Her Device kept on warning her, making many eyes turn to her to see what was going on. The next moment, glass was breaking, windows were smashed, a massive beam of purple magic came across her and Emi. She saw it all in the corner of her eye.

She grabbed the red-haired girl at her wrist and dragged her under the table, while she jumped off her chair, over the table with a sliding, the magic went just over the tip of her nose before she ended up on the ground, and saw the beam smashing in one of the walls. It wasn't that massive as it looked, because it didn't even bring much damage to it.

''What the hell?!'' Someone yelled through the space. It was Emi. ''What the fuck was that?!''

''EMI! Shut up!'' Tia yelled back to her. ''Stay down!''

''Why?! I'm a Mage too, I-''

''I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that you can use magic properly. The last time I checked with you, you couldn't even dodge my simplest attack! So stay down!''

_Incoming spell at 4 meters! ..3!...2..._

She didn't think and dashed to the left, slide over the ground before the next beam hit the wall again.

_I don't know WHO it is, but he can't even aim properly! _She thought while commanding her Device.

''Cross Mirage, Barrier Jacket: Armoured Core Mode!''

_Set Up_

Starting from her feet, an orange glow began to cover the surface. The school shoes, black Mary Jane's, turned in a pair of black, armoured high boots with red accents. Her legs became covered under the orange surface, changing in bare legs. The black-red plaid skirt changed in a black bodysuit with red and silver accents on her thighs. The school blazer, also black and red with white ruffles on the sleeves and collar changed form and cropped tight around her upper body.

The sleeveless top was black with red accents under her breasts and above them and around her neck. Her hands covered in orange as they became two pair of silver, fingerless armoured gloves up to her elbows. Under these, long black fingerless gloves with red trim formed. Her long, orange hair changed in a long, wide ponytail.

_Set Up complete. Changing in Flight Mode_

The white card began to stretch out while turning bright orange, changing shape and width until she was cradling a long staff with a wide, deep red blade with a small curve when it neared its end. The small, round object in the middle was glowing soft orange until it stopped, appearing as a red, bright pearl similar to Raising Heart in Stand-By Form, but then bigger.

She stood up and opened her eyes. This was just a few seconds because the next beam came in, more powerful and massive than the other two. She jumped back, touched the ground with her toes before she was up in the mid-air, floating.

The smoke from the blast slowly disappeared. A young man with deep brown eyes and the same crimson red hair as Emi was standing with a cannon-like Device, surrounded by smaller mana balls with a Mid-Childa Loop around them, looking at her.

Cold went over her spine as she saw his eyes. These where the same cold eyes she saw when her brother was killed.


	3. The First Battle II

Emi shook heavily when she saw him. Brown eyes, full of hatred. Red hair, crimson like hers. She couldn't remember her name, she was so bad in it that she even didn't remember the names of her classmates in primary school, but she _knew_ she arrested him once for selling drugs without permission. But there was one other thing...

''Long time no see, Tiana? You surely grown a lot!''

''Shut up...'' She hissed at him, but it was like she produced some kind of growl mixed with a whisper. Her eyes cringed in anger, her hand clenched the shaft of her Device tight but she didn't manage to hold it still, she was shaking in anger, raw hate.

''I can't hear you! Maybe everyone else here want to hear what you just said?!'' Before she could react, several pitch-black mana balls surrounded with a glowing, neon green radiance came to her with high speed. She ducked to dodge the first one, saw the others in the corner in her eye, turned and flew away. When she neared a wall she turned, blocked the bullet with a shield, smashed the last two with a mana blast and dashed towards him again.

But when she was near him, ready to attack, it was like all her strength dropped from her body. Her muscles protested, they almost hurt. She hung before him, her eyes crossing his for a moment, but when she realized it, it was too late. His foot hit her in the stomach, making her bend over in pain, but there was no time for her to feel it. His knee hit her in the face, slamming her backwards in a tumbling, hitting the ground few times before slamming against a wall.

Her Barrier Jacket was protecting her, but she still felt a bruised rib stinging her with pain. Dazed and confused she tried to stand by pulling her body up on her Device, but the world was turning and tossing.

What_ the hell... He's using AMF?... But..._

She took one step back, one wrong step to realize she was lifted up in the air, then smashed back in the floor, felt how her rib broke, and was bind in the air with her arms spread. She struggled, ignored the pain, but it didn't make any sense; the bind was too strong.

Suddenly the world fell in a remarkable twist, colours began to blend together. The whole school building, all the students, the teachers, everyone and everything dissolved. A high, sharp squeaking tone filled her ears, it was like her mind was going to explode by its strength; it hurt like a burning hell. Suddenly it stopped, and the world before her had changed completely.

The sky was gray and blue, buildings surrounded them, it was one big city. Where were they?

They were floating above the buildings, between the taller ones, above a huge network of bridges, shops and platforms. Big screens were surrounding with commercials, music videos, parents, children, civilians passed by under them on the street, about 50 feet down. She didn't recognize where they were. It wasn't on Mid, because Mid-Childa had two moons, and here, there was no one, even now the sky was clear. A soft wind was blowing through the air, the smell of the city came up, voices, noise, the city sounds came to her mind.

''Where the _hell_ are we?! Why-''

Before she could pass those words over her lips the enemy before her snapped his fingers, and the bind broke. For a moment she was weightless, then she began to fall. Without her Armoured Core activated she couldn't fly and leveled down to a ground-mage. With a small cry she fell down, the screens and music soared past her, wind rustled in her ears before sounds of civilians came by faster and faster, they slowly became louder and louder. When she turned her head she saw a platform coming at her with high speed. She knew she wouldn't survive the crash, even with a Barrier Jacket.

She closed her eyes. She already could feel the pain of the stone, breaking ribs, maybe her legs, or it could become her death. The first thing she felt, was a hard blow in her back, then she suddenly was going to the left. She opened one eye. Her sight was normal, except the dizziness in her head.

''Don't get up or you'll fall off!''

''Wh-... EMI! I told you not to-''

''Yeah, not to use magic. But this thing here isn't magic. It's science.''

While grabbing Emi's waist and swinging one leg over the thing, Tia got up. They were... Flying? The thing which prevented her death, was a dark vehicle, with neon-blue, glowing stripes between the parts where the iron connected. The engine, as far she could see when she looked down and backwards, was a kind of spiral in the end of the vehicle. Between all the blue, dark stripes turned round and round fast between it all.

''What is this? And could you explain what- AAGH!''

They missed an platform by _just _an inch, civilians walking over it stared at them like they were crazy.

''HEY! Watch what you're doing, idiot! We could CRASH, damn it!''

''Chill, I'm used to this. But right now I can't explain or else we REALLY crash! Is he still following us?''

Tia looked over her shoulder. The platforms, bridges, everything they passed went in one big blur, but there was not even a spark of the purple-black magic or the guy himself.

''No. I guess he gave up after he saw me fall. He probably thought I crashed.''

''Nice. Anyway, we have to get out of here now. We aren't allow to fly with this thing in the centre of the city. I didn't get permission for this time.''

Tiana sweat-dropped and sighed. This sure was confusing...


	4. Explanations

''Hitomi, I'm home!'' Emi shouted through the hallway as she unbuttoned her red uniform jacket. A blonde girl with long hair, parted bangs which ran along her face, leaving her forehead bare, the ends of her hair curled a bit, walked towards them.

''You're late, sis... Who's that?'' Her purple, big eyes stared at the orange-haired girl, dressed in the school's uniform, too. Her eyes were as cold as ice, her hair was as orange as the setting sun. It matched perfectly fine with the uniform.

''I'm Tiana. I'm Emi's friend and classmate. And you are?''

''Hitomi. I'm Emi's sister.''

_Silence. _

Tiana glanced from Emi to Hitomi, and from Hitomi back to Emi. The noise of the traffic about 80 feet down was the only thing which distorted the awkward situation.

''You have a sister?! You never told me about that!''

''Well... She's not actually my real sister. I'm adopted.''

Tiana let out an confused, angry sigh. ''Okay, who's gonna explain this to me?! And more importantly, I want to know where I am! Can I contact with someone in Mid-Childa?''

''Fine. Have a seat, this is going to take a while.''

* * *

''I still remember that day. Mom was doing my hair with black ribbons, because we went to a musical, after that we would go to my father's grave. I never met him, because he died in an explosion in a lab. The project they were working on was top secret. Anyway, when my sister, Miona, and my mom, Azura, were driving on the highway, the engine began to make a weird noise. So mom drove the car to the side and wanted to get out to check it, but the engine exploded when she opened the door. I think I got hit, because I passed out.''

She took a sip of her drink and continued.

''When I woke up, I was in the hospital. The doctors told me I survived the accident, but I was in critical condition. They also told me I had been in coma for four days. When I asked about my sister and mother, they didn't want to tell me. I got better, but I couldn't walk. So I had to train my legs. It was hard and heavy, but I didn't want to give up. I had this one thought of my mother saying, ''Emi, you're strong. You're strong enough to take the world's pain, to fight all evil in it. Never forget that'' I kept on training my body, but I knew there was something wrong. The doctors told me to stop, but I wouldn't. I was still hospitalized, when one of my legs suddenly stopped and I collapsed.''

''You collapsed? How? Weren't your muscles recovered enough? When they weren't, you wasn't able to stand.'' Tiana took one sugar cube and dropped it in her tea. The block melted by the heat of it and completely dissolved. She took a few sips.

''A nurse carried me to a huge lab. When I entered, there were some kind of stasis tanks. All empty. They were lined up left and right from me, and they reached as far I could see. She took me to one with my name carved in it. It was about four times my size, and empty. All kind of cables were hanging inside the tank, plus an oxygen mask. Several buttons and sorts of keyboards were on platforms behind all the tanks. She told me when I was in coma, I was put in this one. My body... It didn't felt like the body I was used to, and she explained why.''

Emi tapped in the surface before her with two fingers, and several reddish screens popped up, which scrolled lines with information and a scan of Emi's body.

''I broke many bones which couldn't recover anymore, but with the technologies here I could be rescued. The right side of my face, my left arm, the left side of my ribcage, some parts in my stomach, some fingers and my right hand, and my complete left leg, it was all filled with cybernetic programs.''

''So basically you're a Cyborg?''

''Yes, but it is called the Cyborg Program here. I was one of the first humans who were involved with this, and I need to do a scan once in a few years. When something is wrong, or I get heavily injured, when the cables break or my arm breaks off-''

''Wait, your COMPLETE ARM can fall off?!'' Tiana almost choked in her sip she just took and coughed. She looked at Emi's left arm, then back to her eyes.

''Yep. When I'm having a fight, and someone's shooting something to me which is sharp, it can pierce my arm, when it breaks the threads, my arm falls off. When something like that happens, I need to be taken to the hospital back again, then to the lab. While I'm in the tank, they will 'repair' my program. After a few days I'm completely recovered.''

''This is just like the Combat Cyborg program from Jail Scaglietti...'' Tiana murmured softly. ''Anyway, could you explain where we are?''

Another reddish screen popped up, and now Hitomi was the one who just simply began to tap in the screen while a semi-circled keyboard appeared under the screen, then tapped on the keyboard; her fingers were almost _flying _over the keys.

''You're on Artha.'' Hitomi explained to her, still tapping the keyboard to fill the screens with more and more information.

''You and Emi are going to school at Mid-Childa, right?''

''Yes.''

''What calendar do you have? And do you know your timeline?''

''Our calendar, on Mid, began in 0001. I was born 0059. My brother...'' She swallowed hard. ''He was killed 0069. I enlisted the TSAB with Subaru in 0072, and completed it in 0076. I started to work as Enforcer in 0078. The current timeline on Mid is now 0083. We also succeeded in dissolving the Bible of the Silver Cross incident. I went to the school with Emi in 0084, so now I'm 25. You probably ask me why I joined a school this late in age, but I wanted to try live a kind of normal life.''

''Okay. Then, do you know planet Earth?''

''Yes, I know it. Why?''

''The calendar on Artha has almost the same timeline than Earth. While the current calendar on Earth is on timeline 2018, our timeline is now 2258. As you can see, our technologies here are likely the same as on Mid-Childa, but it might be that we developed it better.''

''May I ask one question? Why are you wearing that uniform?''

Hitomi was wearing a white blouse, a black skirt and jacket, and a dark purple tie and belt. Her legs were dressed in a light-brown pantyhose and she was wearing black, ankle-length boots. On her right thigh, but it was only shown partial, there was a band with something similar to a gun holder.

''Emi and I are working for the Defensive Mage Unit, shortly DMU. We are working as officers for Cindy Ayakea, our commander. It's like the police, but the project inside the bureau is secret. If you want to come with us you'll need to do a fighting test to see if you're a real mage.''

''Sis! Tiana isn't from Earth! How couldn't she be a mage?!''

''Those are the rules. And you'll have to accept them. Do you accept?'' She reached her hand towards Tiana's.

She shook it and grabbed it firmly.

''I accept.''

* * *

_Well, I explained almost everything for Point ZER0. I don't know if I correctly said the timeline in Mid-Childa, but I based it from the New Calendar. Please correct me if I'm wrong. _

_VocalSynthesia_


	5. Training

The tip of Tiana's weapon smashed in the wall, cracked it with force, just next to her opponent's ear. Her opponent jumped away, landed and dashed forward to her again, trying to hit her. When her sword clinged in hers, Tiana lifted one leg and kicked her away in the gut.

''Cross Mirage, Combat Mode!'' She commented, panting, as her feet and hands changed in the white, metal combat set.

**.:Combat Mode, Complete:.**

The ground under her cracked as the force from the power rose under her feet. Then she lifted one shoe and dashed to her opponent, who was still recovering from the surprise attack in her gut. She was barely in time to catch her fist with the side of her sword, not prepared for the second one and it hit her in her face. This wasn't enough to back her off, so her attacker quickly removed her fist from the weapon, spun in the air and sent a flying kick against her head.

The girl screamed before dropping to the ground, completely K.O. Panting, the mage looked down on her.

''Alright, who's next!?'' She jelled throughout in the training centre. No response. A beeping sound caught her attention.

''Tiana, this is Commander Ayakea speaking. As you can see, you beat down several other opponents. The proof that you're not an ordinary human is almost complete. To test your strength, you'll have to fight one of our Mages. Is that okay for you?''

''Sure. Let's see if she will be strong enough.''

Two mechanical doors opened while a blast of air rustled through her hair, footsteps sounded through the centre, leaving a sort of metallic sound behind. A loud _clink!_ sounded when something hit the floor. Tiana turned.

''E-eh?''

A silver staff in a gloved hand, the tip was a large blade with a small magic circle spinning slowly around the tip and the shaft, also one at the end, next to a pair of feet covered in armoured knee boots, a pair of black stockings and black shorts. Her hips were surrounded by a piece of red fabric, this piece was attached with two silver clasp-like items on her hips. A bare belly, a black sleeveless halter top with an armoured chest piece over it. The hand which was holding the staff was clothed in a fingerless glove, the other arm was covered up to just under her armpit with a black full glove, half covered in a metal armour piece. The red hair was a single, thick long braid tied together at the end of her kneeholes with a silver band. Her red, sparkling eyes had changed into cold, heartless jewels.

''Emi!? But-''

''No time for complaining. I know, my armour has changed since the last time we trained, and I developed my skills. Let's start this mock battle, shall we?''

* * *

_SLAM!_

Emi's body smashed the ground by the force of her friend's kick in her back. She rolled over, turned and dashed towards her. Tia easily blocked her attacks without letting go of her concentration on her target.

_You wanna play it this way, huh? Striking me out with a surprise attack..._

All of sudden she jumped away, then she disappeared before Tiana's eyes. Blinking in confusion, she turned around to see where Emi went.

She was unprepared for the blow that hit her against her back and she fell down on her knees in confusion. The second blow came in and kicked her head up as she fell backwards, but she stumbled up.

_When did she- _

''Impressed? And that's not even everything I learned. Let's see if you can handle _this._ DOUBLE FACILITATION!''

With the speed doubled she used before, she disappeared again. But she didn't manage to hide her intervals as she suddenly saw several orange bullets coming in through her vision. She simply dodged them, reappeared behind Tiana and made a backwards summersault through the air, as she stopped with her feet against a wall.

_She saw through my pattern!? But how!? A Facilitation can't be seen if you don't know about it!_

''Cross Mirage, Cannon Mode!''

**.:Cross Cannon, Set Up:.**

A large cannon in black, white and red was cradling in her hands, one finger on the trigger. The whole thing was about 6 meters long. The ground under her feet cracked in a bit when the set-up completed, probably by the weight.

''Let's see if you can dodge _this_ with your speed! Charge!''

**.:Charging:.**

As a high loud _fyyyyyiiiii-_sound was heard, orange magic cramped together at the start of the cannon, forming a bigger growing ball, magic circles appeared and surrounded the cannon at the beginning and the end.

Emi's eyes cringed in shock as she knew what was going to happen. She sank through her knees, and called forth a High Movement Spell, as the ball was growing and growing.

**.:Charge Complete:.**

''FIRE!"

With amazing force the ball released from its stance, blasting a huge air blow through the training centre. The massive orange destruction came in faster and faster, ready to smash her and knock her out. But Emi was _just _fast enough to dodge it so it only grazed her back and ripped open her top from the front. The wall behind her cracked as chalk and dust poured out of it, then an explosion followed.

The Cartridge System on the cannon shifted and puffed out smoke as the circles began to disappear. Just when the red-haired Mage crawled up, a high _beep_ sound filled the room.

''Okay, training's over. Both of you, go take a shower and come to my office when you're done. I'll talk to you when you're ready.''

''Yes, commander.''

The noise dropped and it was deadly silent in the centre. Emi broke it with a sigh.

''So, I'm going to take a shower. Want one too?'' As she faced Tiana, she couldn't withstand to burst out in laughter. ''What? What's with that look?''

''Are you're going to explain this to me?'' The other girl said with a poker-face.

''Not now, it's too complicated- Urgh...'' Emi sank to her knees, grasping at her back. Tiana hurried to her.

''What's wrong!? Are you okay!?"

''M-my A.F. System is reacting... I-I... That means there's an Faylan somewhere in the city... G-go call commander Ayakea...''

''But-''

''NOW!''

_Invasing at this time of the day? It isn't even 11 am! Why!?_

* * *

_AN: The A.F. System is made of the corpse from the first Faylan who invaded Artha. The A.F. System reacts when there are Faylans invasing because they are parts of a Faylans corpse. _

_Also, I updated the first ''chapter'' a bit with more information about the story for Point ZER0. Check it out if you don't want to be confused for the next chapter, and thank you all who are reading this! Reviews are welcome _


	6. Under Attack I

The tip of Tiana's weapon smashed in the wall, cracked it with force, just next to her opponent's ear. Her opponent jumped away, landed and dashed forward to her again, trying to hit her. When her sword clinged in hers, Tiana lifted one leg and kicked her away in the gut.

''Cross Mirage, Combat Mode!'' She commented, panting, as her feet and hands changed in the white, metal combat set.

**.:Combat Mode, Complete:.**

The ground under her cracked as the force from the power rose under her feet. Then she lifted one shoe and dashed to her opponent, who was still recovering from the surprise attack in her gut. She was barely in time to catch her fist with the side of her sword, not prepared for the second one and it hit her in her face. This wasn't enough to back her off, so her attacker quickly removed her fist from the weapon, spun in the air and sent a flying kick against her head.

The girl screamed before dropping to the ground, completely K.O. Panting, the mage looked down on her.

''Alright, who's next!?'' She jelled throughout in the training centre. No response. A beeping sound caught her attention.

''Tiana, this is Commander Ayakea speaking. As you can see, you beat down several other opponents. The proof that you're not an ordinary human is almost complete. To test your strength, you'll have to fight one of our Mages. Is that okay for you?''

''Sure. Let's see if she will be strong enough.''

Two mechanical doors opened while a blast of air rustled through her hair, footsteps sounded through the centre, leaving a sort of metallic sound behind. A loud _clink!_ sounded when something hit the floor. Tiana turned.

''E-eh?''

Red circles formed the shape of a staff with a large blade on top and completed her battle suit. She turned her arm a bit and pointed the tip of the blade to Tiana. A silver staff in a gloved hand, with a small magic circle spinning slowly around the tip and the shaft, also one at the end, next to a pair of feet covered in armoured knee boots, a pair of black stockings and black shorts. Her hips were surrounded by a piece of red fabric, this piece was attached with two silver clasp-like items on her hips. A bare belly, a black sleeveless halter top with an armoured chest piece over it. The hand which was holding the staff was clothed in a fingerless glove, the other arm was covered up to just under her armpit with a black full glove, half covered in a metal armour piece. The red hair was a single, thick long braid tied together at the end of her kneeholes with a silver band. Her red, sparkling eyes had changed into cold, heartless jewels.

''A.F. Weapon, deploy!''

''Emi!? But-''

''No time for complaining. I know, my armour has changed since the last time we trained, and I developed my skills. Let's start this mock battle, shall we?''

_SLAM!_

Emi's body smashed the ground by the force of her friend's kick in her back. She rolled over, turned and dashed towards her. Tia easily blocked her attacks without letting go of her concentration on her target.

_You wanna play it this way, huh? Striking me out with a surprise attack..._

All of sudden she jumped away, then she disappeared before Tiana's eyes. Blinking in confusion, she turned around to see where Emi went.

She was unprepared for the blow that hit her against her back and she fell down on her knees in confusion. The second blow came in and kicked her head up as she fell backwards, but she stumbled up.

_When did she- _

''Impressed? And that's not even everything I learned. Let's see if you can handle _this._ DOUBLE FACILITATION!''

With the speed doubled she used before, she disappeared again. But she didn't manage to hide her intervals as she suddenly saw several orange bullets coming in through her vision. She simply dodged them, reappeared behind Tiana and made a backwards summersault through the air, as she stopped with her feet against a wall.

_She saw through my pattern!? But how!? A Facilitation can't be seen if you don't know about it!_

''Cross Mirage, Cannon Mode!''

**.:Cross Cannon, Set Up:.**

A large cannon in black, white and red was cradling in her hands, one finger on the trigger. The whole thing was about 6 meters long. The ground under her feet cracked in a bit when the set-up completed, probably by the weight.

''Let's see if you can dodge _this_ with your speed! Charge!''

**.:Charging:.**

As a high loud _fyyyyyiiiii-_sound was heard, orange magic cramped together at the start of the cannon, forming a bigger growing ball, magic circles appeared and surrounded the cannon at the beginning and the end.

Emi's eyes cringed in shock as she knew what was going to happen. She sank through her knees, and called forth a High Movement Spell, as the ball was growing and growing.

**.:Charge Complete:.**

''FIRE!"

With amazing force the ball released from its stance, blasting a huge air blow through the training centre. The massive orange destruction came in faster and faster, ready to smash her and knock her out. But Emi was _just _fast enough to dodge it so it only grazed her back and ripped open her top from the front. The wall behind her cracked as chalk and dust poured out of it, then an explosion followed.

The Cartridge System on the cannon shifted and puffed out smoke as the circles began to disappear. Just when the red-haired Mage crawled up, a high _beep_ sound filled the room.

''Okay, training's over. Both of you, go take a shower and come to my office when you're done. I'll talk to you when you're ready.''

''Yes, commander.''

The noise dropped and it was deadly silent in the centre. Emi broke it with a sigh.

''So, I'm going to take a shower. Want one too?'' As she faced Tiana, she couldn't withstand to burst out in laughter. ''What? What's with that look?''

''Are you're going to explain this to me?'' The other girl said with a poker-face.

''Not now, it's too complicated- Urgh...'' Emi sank to her knees, grasping at her back. Tiana hurried to her.

''What's wrong!? Are you okay!?"

''M-my A.F. System is reacting... I-I... That means there's an Faylan somewhere in the city... G-go call commander Ayakea...''

''But-''

''NOW!''

_Invasing at this time of the day? It isn't even 11 am! Why!?_

* * *

_AN: Yeah, I know, this is a sort of storyline-changing one, because it started off with a fight between Emi, Tiana and a mage from another dimension, but ended up with a Faylan attack. _


	7. Under Attack II

''_WHAT!? _A Faylan!? In the centre!?'' Ayakea almost fell off her chair as she got the information through her screen before her. ''Alright then, should I send the first years?''

''No, they're still in their first year, they're not strong enough for a real battle. Only send the strongest students from the first year, and send second and third years with them.'' The chief from the USA spoke to her from another bureau in Artha.

''But-''

''Do not contradict me, Ayakea. You're still an statutory auditor, you know the rankings. I give the orders here. You-''

''Yes, yes, I know what will happen then. I'm sending them out.''

_A Faylan in the centre in the middle of the day... This is a disaster, all those people are defenceless against something like that when it attacks..._

She tapped a button as a high-pitched alarm began to sound through the whole bureau and stepped out of her office.

''Listen up! A Faylan invased in the centre of North-Japan. First years will be inactive in combat, with exception for the few who have a notice in their screens. Second years will be deployed immediately and go with the heli's. Third years will get a notice, too. Please stay calm in combat and listen to my orders. There are lives on the line we have to save!''

The first, second and third years began to move out. Footsteps rushed through the halls, yells for teammates were going back and forth. Tiana and Emi were still showering, but Emi almost jumped out of the shower when the alarm went. Tiana wanted to go call Ayakea, but since she already got the call there was no need to.

''What? What's happening?''

''A Faylan. We're ordered to deploy for combat, too. Dress in your combat outfit and come with me.''

As both were in combat outfits, their name was called through the speakers in the bureau. They began to run, but the heli was already full so they couldn't come with it anymore. Emi was silent for a moment when the heli went up, turned and flew to North-Japan. Then she turned and began to run.

''Wait! How are we going to get there without the heli!?''

''We're going to fly.'' She took a sprint and used a High Speed Movement to dash off the platforms' end, then was mid-air.

''EH!? A platform?'' Tiana shouted as she dashed off it, too and began to fly towards North with her friend. ''Can you explain some things to me?''

''Fine. I'm a third year in the DMU. The reason why my A.F. System hurts, is because they're fragments from a Faylan's corpse. This gives you supernatural powers to fight them. When I use my Facilitation too much- the attack I used on you while training- my skin is gives a warning sign by appearing of ''thread'' patterns in the colour of my magic all over my body. That is the first state of the thing we call ''corrosion''. In the second state, my skin is sort of ''ripping'', so that the true colour of the A.F. System becomes visible in my body, the colour is sort of dark-greyish and it looks like it is made of an kind of metal. I saw it a few times when out in combat with my teammates and it looks scary. However, you can be saved if you stop when you feel you're entering the third and last state. This one is critical, and you can die when you don't stop it. The most of your body will be covered in the corrosion and you won't be able to know your teammates or your enemy; they're all the same then.''

''What happens when you don't stop the third state before entering it?''

''It's simple; when you're overusing your power you die.''

''That's pretty... hard, if you ask me.''

''We don't have any other choice. Be happy that they didn't invade Mid-Childa. Ah, I can see the heli. Over there!''

The heli was beginning to drop height and the centre was still full of people, not knowing about the danger which was approaching them. The two girls followed it and landed beside it as the wind from the heli almost made it unable to stand without falling.

In the meantime, commander Ayakea was in the command room. ''How are things now?''

'' Evacuation of civilians and non-combatants is 97% complete. The first row is in place. The second row is in place. The third row and the finishers are in place. Interception line will be deployed in one minute and thirty seconds.''

''I want data from all platoon leaders.''

''Roger. Contact to platoon leaders immediately.''

Red screens popped up with a soft _bleep _and data began to scroll across the panels as the platoon leaders got their message. Tiana was standing in the third row when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

''You're ready?'' A familiar voice spoke as she turned around.

''B-but... Why are you here!? How did you get to this location!?''

''You know you've been tracked by the TSAB when you're in the school building on Mid, right? You just disappeared, so we tracked down your location thanks to technical support. I'll be staying here a few days.''

''Subaru, you idiot! And you didn't really chose the best time, we're in the start of a battle!''

''Then let me fight with you.''

''We contacted the platoon leaders! Information coming in...''

''Platoon leader one, first year, Anna Kurosaha. She received her information and will be leading the first and second years, as well for third year Mihona Sakiwarea. She will lead the third and the first half of the finishers. Emi Hinato, third year, has her information as well. She will lead the other half of the finishers and is the last one to strike. Then we have two unknown mages in the battlefield. Sending visuals now...''

Ayakea almost choked her coffee. ''Wait, those two are from Mid-Childa! Contact them!''

''We can't! The signal broke down!''

''Then contact Hinato and tell her to inform them about their places! They are all-rounders!''

''All-rounders!? But-''

''We don't have a choice. If the platoons of the first years are falling, they are the only backup we have left.''

''More signals coming up!'' another voice shouted. ''Probably from Mid-Childa, too, or help from the USA and Germany arrived!''

''What? From Germany and the USA? Why? There was supposed to be only one Faylan!''

''There are three Faylans confirmed! Type Unknown! We don't know if we can handle these by ourselves!''

''Commencing operation in ten seconds!''

_TEN_

Emi heard the counting in her earpiece as she felt the tension rise in the platoons.

_NINE_

''Let's be careful, Tia. We never fought these things. We don't know what they're going to do.''

_EIGHT_

''We're all-rounders. Let's wait when the second line deployed, okay?''

_SEVEN_

''First platoon, get in position! Let's kick some ass!'' Anna shouted, as she deployed her weapon.

_SIX_

Several others deployed their weapons. Most of the first year students were overwhelmed and filled with fear as they took a few steps back.

_FIVE_

_FOUR_

_THREE_

''Time to teach those motherfuckers a lesson!''

_TWO  
ONE_

''Platoon 1, GO!''

The ground they were standing on cracked, dust came up as the first platoon moved out, closing in on the Faylan. It turned towards them and darted out one of its sharp, long tentacle-like blade towards the group. The group split out and attacked it from behind, making it lose its defensive barrier.

''Platoon 2, don't get the first years in the way! Create an opening for the third years and rip off those arms!''

The massive creature, standing from up to a 10-story building with immense flexible blades, shaped like an alien made out of smooth stone. The two cores in the body, one in the chest, one on the head, were deeply embedded and could only be exposed when the upper surface was destroyed. And it slowly moved forward towards the platoons.

While the second platoon helped the first and exposed the first core in the chest, the first few of the third platoon smashed into it, destroying it.

''Platoon leader! WATCH OUT!''

One of the last remaining blades whipped towards Emi and her team, aiming for her. She knew even if she was in time to dodge it, it would kill those behind her. A blue flash caught her attention and blinded her eyes. The next thing she saw was the severed metallic blade turning in front of her, then she saw a red haze.

The girl who smashed away the blade was hit in her arm by the sharp edge. Emi expected to see flesh ripping open, then the blood vessels, muscles, maybe even a flash of _bone._ But her expectations weren't even close to that. The blood dripped over the wound as the insides became visible. The arm was made of wires, chips and cables, being burnt as the electric shocks flew of it.

_A cyborg? _

''You okay!?''

''Yeah! What about you!?''

''I'm fine, but this Barrier Jacket won't hold any longer! Mach Caliber, Barrier Jacket; Combat Overdrive!''

**.:Overdrive activate:.**

Subaru's jacket dissolved along with the skirt-like cloth around her hips, turning the shorts and top in an sleeveless bodysuit. Her Revolver Knuckle shrunk until it was one long over-the-shoulder glove, which was attached to the black and blue bodysuit. Her breast became covered in a chest plate with glowing blue stripes, as her hair ribbon broke away. The knee pads grew out a bit higher until they covered the leg just above the knee, and the underside did the same until they touched her rollerblades. The rollerblades kind of melted into the extended pads and became over-the-knee mechanical boots. The blue crystal embodied on the reformed Revolver Knuckle and rollerblades, and on her knees as her magic circle appeared under her feet.

''Let's kick some ass!''

.:**Drive Ignition!:.**

* * *

_I thought it wasn't fair when only Tia got some upgrades, so Subaru got some from me, too. Stay tuned for updates! There will be some more because I'm having holidays now._


	8. Under Attack III

**.:Shattering Blast:.**

Breaking from one blue mana ball, several powerful blasts of blue magic shot across the field towards the Faylan, breaking a path through the tentacles as they were ripped off.

''FIRE!"

The large blue ball slipped out a small stream, before smashing forward as a powerful wind almost knocked the finishers behind Subaru over. The magic reached the core in the head of the Faylan, but seconds before it reached, the skin around it closed down. The consumed mana slammed against the closed surface, then exploded shortly after, but it didn't even scratch the skin.

''What the- Hey! What the heck is going on!? It closed its skin, damn it!'' Subaru shouted out as she reloaded her cartridges in her modified Revolver Knuckle.

''It's evolving!'' Emi shouted from somewhere behind in the group. ''This didn't happen before!''

''ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?''

Cindy yelled in her headset towards the group. In the meanwhile, the Legacy of the USA and Germany were battling with the two other Faylans, but no one did know if they survived.

''Do we have visuals!?''

''Visuals for field 1 and 3 sending... Visuals coming up!''

The black-haired woman dropped her cup of coffee. It shattered to pieces on the ground, the brown, warm liquid flowed over the floor. On the screen, it was a ravage. The Faylan had fired a particle beam in the group from Germany and destroyed the ground, together with the Mages which were fighting. Blood covered the battlefield, along with dying bodies and bloodied corpses. Some Mages were alive, but half of their body was blown away. Others screamed for help, in complete horror and fear.

''S-show the visuals for field 2!''

In the meanwhile, even the finishers couldn't defeat the shell around the Faylan. The tentacles whipped back and forth, killing those who got in its way. Emi was covered in blood of her other teammates, and so was Hitomi who was fighting next to her and struggling with a tentacle.

''Damn it! Get off! GET OFF!'' She yelled, but it was no use. ''Fine'' She placed her hands on the tentacle. ''**_Barrier Purge!_**'' The tentacle snapped, liquid mixed with sour sprayed out of it, burning on skin and clothing. Hitomi screamed when the mixture fell on her skin, burning the flesh as blood began to drip.

''Sis! Damn you...'' Her fist clenched the shaft of her weapon in anger and she turned face-to-face towards the Faylan. The dangerous aura slowly took over her mind, and her A.F. System began to hurt. ''Let's see if you can take this, you fucking piece of shit! _TRIPLE FACILITATION!_'' With a scream filled with hate and anger, she disappeared to reappear behind the Faylan, but before it could strike again, she disappeared again in a Double Facilitation.

She somehow managed to figure its attack pattern out, but wasn't fast enough to see what happened next. Her blood became cold as ice. Pupils shrunk, her mouth hung open a bit. One last tentacle deformed in a sharp-edged blade and darted forwards. Hitomi saw it coming. She couldn't move, she wasn't fast enough to dodge it.

_Heartbeat_

It came closer.

_Heartbeat_

She could see it right across her path, the point darted at her midriff. She shut her eyes hard.

_Heartbeat_

A wet _splash _sound, the noise of breaking and bruising bones, a long gasp. The blade stopped, but was drenched with blood. The deep red liquid painted the metallic blade, it was streaming, then dripping of it in the pool on the ground. When she opened her eyes, she wanted to close them immediately again.

Her saviour stood in front of her. The orange hair was filled with red, blood soaked her battle outfit, dripping from her midriff over her back, down her legs in the growing pool of blood. Her body trembled and shivered all over and it was hard for her to stand. Out of Tiana's mouth blood began to stream, out of her nose, too. She coughed and more blood spilled.

"B-but... WHY!? WHY would you risk your life for me!? Y-you...'' Hitomi could only mutter. She was completely thunderstruck, she didn't even try –she hated it, especially when it was someone else's- to wipe off the blood on her body from her saviour.

Slowly, and with slightly hesitation, she tried to turn her head. A weak smile passed her lips as even more blood cringed out of her mouth. A single tear ran across her face, dripped from her chin, and her next tears weren't just tears. They were made from blood.

''I... I can't... L-let my friends... Die...'' The Faylan made a move and pulled back his blade, ripping it out of Tiana's midriff. She tried to turn her bloodshot eyes to the pale cyborg girl behind Hitomi in the distance. ''I... I'm s-sorry... Subaru... I-'' Her body slowly collapsed on the bloodied ground. For one moment it was silent.

_''TIANA!"_

Both Emi and Subaru screamed for her, but Subaru was the only one who hurried to her, cradling her in her arms. Emi was still around the Faylan, but out of its sight.

_Why? Why... Did this thing hurt... My friends?..._

''Hey! Open your eyes! Tiana!'' Subaru yelled in horror, sadness, as she lightly shook her lover, trying to wake her up. It was no use, she didn't react. ''Come on, damn it! Wake up! Ti-''

Tiana slowly opened her eyes, but it was like she didn't react at anything around her at all. Her pupils were as black and hollow like those from a dead person, and the once bright blue was darkened. Tears of blood still dripped out of those dead eyes. She struggled to lift one arm, reaching for nothing.

''Subaru?... Are... Are you... Here...?... Subaru...?''

_What is this!? Is she dead?... No... She's still reacting to something... But..._

''Hey, I'm here. What's wrong? Tiana?''

''It... It is so... Dark in here... Where... Where am I...?... S... Subaru...?''

Subaru's voice broke. Tears began to stream as her body shook uncontrollably in her sobs. Tiana's mind was taken over by something unknown, but she wasn't dead either. Her skin began to react. The pale colour and the touch of the soft texture, it hardened in an instant. The body felt heavy, as if it was made from metal... And her skin began to crack, starting at her face. Metal showed up, tearing the skin away. Her wound became visible for a flash, but then started to heal itself.

_What the-..._

Orange glow and a mixture of sparkles and dust started at her toes, dissolving her metalized body. Her eyes were still as hollow and gazing at nowhere, her hand clawed to nothing in the air. Or... was there something? Subaru stared at the place she clawed to, but the only thing she saw was a grey sky, filled with mist and dirt from the fights. The glow, sparkles and dust already reached her thighs.

She couldn't feel or see Tiana's legs anymore, as if they just... This couldn't be happening! This wasn't real! The metallic skin showed glowing marks, words, just... What the hell was going on!? The glow reached her chest, then her shoulder, her neck, her face... The last thing Subaru saw of her were her hollow eyes, then it all became orange dust and disappeared.

She stared at her hands, still positioning her arms as if she was still holding her, as if she didn't disappear. But she was nowhere anymore. The smile on Tiana's face left her mind, the touch of her lips, her eyes, her body, her words- it all began to fade away.

''No...'' Subaru weakly cried out, staring at her shaking hands covered with blood. A horrified scream filled with anger and despair sounded in the distance. The red-haired Mage was standing in front of the Faylan, as a magic circle appeared under her feet. Wind rippled, dust floated up along with rocks under the cracked ground, damaged by the overwhelming force of her anger.

''Why... Why you...-'' Her words where cut out by the voice screaming in her mind, then voiced it herself while dropping her weapon and grasping her head with two hands. As tears began to stream her red eyes flickered between deep amber and furious red. Her scream became longer and longer, louder, as the magic around her destructed the place where she was standing. The Faylan reacted, but didn't went closer.

As the scream faded away the wind still rippled around her, red hair flying loose around her body as the armoured pieces were broken by the force. She breathed deep in and out, picking her weapon up and charging it at full power.

''What... Did you do... To my friends...?...'' She spoke in an emotionless, cold tone. Her eyes changed deep armour, her skin began to drew red signs out of the first state of corrosion.

''What the- What's happening to her?'' Subaru asked to no one, but Hitomi responded bluntly.

''She's going insane.''

* * *

**_Oh gosh, I killed Tiana... Yeah, this is something which happens to me when listening to Two Steps From Hell... Anyway, in case I won't be here anymore today, Happy New Year to you all!_**

**_VC_**


	9. Another Universe I

''Replay those last frames for me!''

''Screen 2, replaying!''

On the screen the visuals for Tiana's last moments were seen. Cindy saw her skin tearing away, those dead, hollow eyes and the marks on the metal. The dissolving of her body, her hand clawing to the sky, the disappearing- all was shown, but it didn't made any damn sense at all.

_What in the world is going on? A Faylan that kills a mage from Mid-Childa, and then she disappeared? And the skin..._

''Commander! Dimension waves appearing in field 2! Anomaly detected in field 2! The pattern is breaking up in those of... a Faylan!''

''WHO!? Whose A.F. System is running amok!?''

''The signals are from Emi Hinato, second year! She's deployed on field 2 along with Hitomi Chiwasa and one mage from Mid-Childa! There appeared to be a second mage from Mid-Childa, but it likely seems she died in battle!''

''Send emergency power to field 2 and contact the platoons from the USA and Germany, and try to contact her, then connect her data to this place and remove her A.F. System immediately!

''We can't! She doesn't react to the signals, nor to those of the alive Legacy on the battlefields around her!''

The lights dimmed in the control room, screeching sounds screamed loud through and a red alarm lighted it up.

''What the hell is happening!?'' Then the power went completely off. Monitors shut down, some even exploded. Wires and cables snapped. Glass broke.

''Power dropout! We lost all contact to the battlefield!''

''Hey! Don't lose yourself! Get it together!'' It didn't made sense; Subaru's nor Hitomi's voice reached Emi's mind. She could only focus on the monster in front of her. She tightened her grip around the shaft of her weapon, the ground broke, ruptured under her feet as she made her way towards the immense alien creature.

''You... You won't get away... With what you've done...'' She lifted her weapon up in the air, the dangerous aura flashed off it, magic loaded in it as it turned bright red. ''Triple... Facilitation...'' She whispered. Then she was gone.

''Wait... Triple Facilitation!? That's a skill taught by third years only!'' Hitomi was startled. _How the heck is this possible!?_

''She's releasing at full power. That's the cause of her upgraded skills.''

''How do you know!? You don't know Emi!''

''I... I'm a Cyborg myself. I have a Combat Cyborg mode, in which I tap all my strength and can enable usage of an skill called IS. My IS is Oscillating Breaker, a cross-range energy attack similar to Revolver Shoot but several orders of magnitude more powerful, with exceptional effectiveness against electronic parts and physical frames of cyborgs. Another cyborg will definitely be killed instantly should one take one hit undefended. Since Emi is in a kind of this state, too, she most likely tapped her full power to her A.S. System and thus can perform the skill you call 'Triple Facilitation'.''

Emi deployed copies of herself to distract the Faylan from its defense and shot her attacks in the back of it. Still, she didn't even came close to its core. It shot its tentacles to her, multiple at once. She was too late to dodge and the blades ripped open her outfit, cutting in her skin. The threads, metal and wires became visible and she lost her defence, then tumbled down and smashed in the ground. Immediately she stood up again but didn't expect another blade from behind and the next moment, her right arm was nothing more than a cut limb stopping just under her armpit. The other part of her limb just fell on the ground. Bone and chips, wires, cables, metal, those where her insides as blood flowed out of her severed arm. But she didn't even feel it.

She dashed forward, then jumped and deployed three copies again to distract the alien, then she landed on the head. Her weapon plunged in the head, then she pulled it forward with all her strength as the head ripped open, showing the glow of the core. She pulled her weapon out, and charged her attack. Eyes full of hatred pinning down her target.

''Blood...''

One large ball grew out of the tip of her blade, minimized versions gathered around it. As soon they were fully charged they slammed in the skull of the Faylan, making it tumbling backwards. Still standing in position, she cried out the last chant of her spell.

''STRIKE!''

The large mana-consumed attack blasted forward in the core, burning deep in the object. The core broke down from the inside, creating a small explosive power. Emi knew how to dodge it, but she was too late. The core exploded while she still was floating above it and was caught into it. Debris, fire and smoke scattered around, but thanks to one of her shields it only cut her legs. She landed, then felt all the damage come to her at once.

All her furious power drained and she dropped her weapon. The deep amber eyes flickered until they were red again. Then, slowly, she fell unconscious on the filthy ground, drifting away in her pain.

* * *

The darkness rose in her body. Something was taking over her mind slowly. But what? Incoherent words slipping in and out of her mind, as if something, someone was calling her from the edge of the hell.

**_Wake up... _**

What do you want from me? She asked to the voice in her mind. No response.

**_Wake up... Wake up... Tiana... Wake up..._**

How do you know my name? Where am I? Wait... How can I be thinking, I'm dead!

**_Wake up... Wake up... _**

The voice became louder and louder, a screeching sound filled her ears. Then, bright light blinded her eyes as she snapped them open, latching to the cream ceiling above her. Was this heaven? Or was it hell? Slowly, confused, she turned her eyes from left to right. It was a relative big room with two couches, light curtains and cream coloured walls. The lights were turned on. A closet next to a small desk. Sunlight through the large window.

_Wait... I know this place... This is my room in my old house!_

Her fingers moved, her arm moved, and she lifted it up in the air, stretching out for the ceiling. It didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all, like she was never wounded. Her arm turned to her chest, to the massive wound which killed her... And the only thing left was a large bandage, wrapping up her whole chest and her right shoulder. Under the bandage, the shape of several gauze pads was seen, blood already soaked in them so it was coming through her bandages a bit.

_I'm... Saved? But... I was dead! I... _

Her thoughts were intercepted by the opening door. Two young people, one man, one woman, walked inside the room. The woman had chestnut-brown shoulder-length hair and red eyes, the man black hair tied in a short ponytail with blue eyes.

''Ah, awake I see? How are you feeling?'' The woman spoke with a soft, calm voice. ''I am Sakura, and this here is André''

_How the heck can I tell how I feel when I don't even know where I am? Wait, Sakura and André... Those names..._

''Where am I?''

''You don't know?''

''I don't even know how I got here. I was... On the battlefield, I think, fighting with aliens, I got hit, and the last thing I knew that my mind was taken over and I couldn't feel my body anymore.''

''We saved you thanks to the magic technologies here, but if we weren't in time you could've been dead. Your Linker Core is damaged, so probably you can't use your magic for a few days until it is all restored.'' The black-haired man spoke.

''How do you know about my magic program?''

''That's a long story. Get up and dressed, you need to get downstairs for breakfast.'' They left the room.

_Sakura and André... Those two... Were the people who cared for me when Nii-san was gone for work. How can they be here?_

She swung her legs out of bed, touching the soft carpet and stretched her body when she stood. Nothing hurt, except for the tiny shocks in her chest. As she opened the closet, she saw her black Enforcer's uniform hanging perfectly clean. Her shoes were standing under it and on the small desk the white card with the red cross was there, without any damage at all. Still confused she dressed and stuffed the card in her pocket, then walked out of the room. The wide, long stairs went down and curved, to end in a really large room with long curtains which reached all the way down to the porcelain floor. Fancy tables and chairs were all over the place, digital screens flew through as commands were giving, maids were cleaning the house. This place was huge.

''Tiana?'' She turned, and Sakura stood behind her, took her hand. Then she pointed to a white door.

''You have to go there. Your family is waiting for you.''

''M-my family?'' Completely confused and thunderstruck, she couldn't walk any step further. Her family was dead, her brother was killed, this wasn't possible.

''What is it? Your mother likes to see you. After all, you're her daughter.'' Sakura smiled, then gently pulled her with her towards the door. André opened it slowly.

''Go, milady. Go see your family.''

Tiana's legs felt like lead. But it was if her body was moving on its own. Her steps took her to a room with a dinner table and four chairs, a kitchen and a lounge room next to it. The food on the table smelled delicious, made her hungry, but she knew this wasn't right. This just wasn't right.

She stopped abruptly when she saw those blue eyes. She remembered them as a child, but didn't think she would ever see them again.

''M...Mom!?''

* * *

_**Whew, this one was a bit harder to write, since a lot of things are going on. Next chapter will explain most of the questions, so keep reading.**_

_**VC**_


End file.
